With regard to Sandra Henderson’s campaign, the interaction perspective is concerned with the ways that Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) can be advantageous in the formation of Sandra’s public image. The social presence theory suggests that CMC has a lower social presence than face-to-face (FtF) interaction, as it provides a lowered capacity to communicate information about people’s appearance, the environment, and nonverbal signals that naturally exist in FtF interaction. This decrease in social context cues that characterizes CMC contributes to a more equalized participation experience among communicators and is especially relevant for people with disabilities. Based on the social presence theory, Sandra’s campaign team should invest significant resources in online media outlets (such as her website), as they offer a higher degree of control in terms of her self-presentational goals and also reduce many of the potentially harmful social context cues that exist in FtF communication.

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